Harvest 2015 Pre-Show at Ingle Vineyard

Early this morning at Ingle Vineyard overlooking the west side of Canandaigua Lake, John Ingle chats with Good Day Rochester's own Hannah Welker about our nature-friendly viticulture practices and all the magic that happens before we begin another grape harvest. This is one of five videos in the series "Vineyard preps for fall harvest," view all on the Good Day Rochester site here >

Here's a report from Don Reisenberger, our vineyard manager overseeing the estate vineyards on Keuka Lake:

After a long cold winter and a wet spring, Summer finally arrived at Heron Hill Winery and Ingle Vineyard. We did experience some bud damage due to the cold winter, but overall it looks like we are going to have an average to above average harvest depending on the variety. When pruning in the winter, we leave extra length on the canes to increase the number of buds that break through in anticipation of some bud kill.

However back-to-back cold winters have depleted the red yields. This is the time of year where you experience warm days and cool nights, and this is begins the process of the grapes ripening. Typically Chardonnay is the first to come in…after, of course, the Seedless Concords for our Heron Hill grape juice. We could be anywhere from three to six weeks out for picking Riesling. We will closely watch the vineyards and check brix levels from multiple vines to determine the best timing for each vineyard site. It’s in Mother Nature’s hands. These recent hot and dry late summer days have been perfect, hopefully She doesn’t dish us more rain in the fall. The berries have already swelled in absorbing moisture; they just need sun to ripen. At Ingle Vineyard, we are beginning to prepare the ground for some new plantings in the coming Spring. This year, it looks like we will again have a select yield of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from Ingle Vineyard in additional to our staples of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. Vidal Blanc will round out the end of harvest in hopes of crafting a luscious Late Harvest wine.